Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Danny Kruger

Thursday 23rd May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call Danny Kruger.

[Danny Kruger (Devizes) (Con)]

My sincere thanks to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and to all Members who are stepping down, particularly my great friend the hon. Member for Stone (Sir William Cash), to whom, more than any other individual, this country owes the restoration of parliamentary sovereignty, and there can be no greater legacy for an MP.

It is very good news that inflation is coming down, particularly because of global energy prices, but business energy costs remain high for many of our constituents. In particular, one agricultural business in my constituency is facing an extraordinary rise in the standing charges it has to pay: it has to pay £32,000 before it even starts to pay for electricity, and the electricity itself will cost only £12,000. The Government, commendably, are asking Ofgem to look at the impact of standing charges on household consumers, but will the Leader of the House ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to request that Ofgem also looks at the impact on businesses?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this matter, and I will certainly write to the Department and ask that it makes that request to Ofgem. I remind colleagues that clearly people will want casework and support for constituents and businesses to continue. I know that Ofgem is particularly interested in the practices of individual suppliers, so I would encourage my hon. Friend to do that. For as long as I can, I will be able to assist hon. Members in that.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Danny Kruger

Thursday 19th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for that, as this is a subject close to my heart. When I was the Minister for Women and Equalities, I wrote the road map that looked at the inequality that women face at every stage of their lives. Of course, by the time they get to retirement they have had multiple layers of inequality that have reduced their financial resilience. I point her to the campaign by the Department for Work and Pensions on pension credit uptake; a fantastic toolkit has really increased the take-up of pension credit in the constituencies of those MPs who have done that campaign. If she has not done it already, I urge her to do it. The next DWP questions is on 23 January, when I encourage her to raise her concerns with the Secretary of State.

[Danny Kruger (Devizes) (Con)]

The A338-A346 is more or less a sheep track that runs between Salisbury and Swindon in my constituency. It was laid out in an age when the heaviest traffic on it was horse-drawn wagons. Now the road is clogged up every day by hundreds of heavy goods vehicles running through our villages, particularly the Collingbournes. I know that the Government are reviewing the connectivity between the Dorset coast and the M4, but will the Leader of the House tell us when that review will report? May we also have a debate in Government time on the problem of excessive heavy goods traffic on our country roads?

[Penny Mordaunt]

My hon. Friend raises an important issue of concern to his constituents. He will know that Transport questions will be on 2 March. I will certainly make sure that the Secretary of State is aware of the issue that he raises, and I thank him for raising it today.

Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Danny Kruger

Thursday 22nd September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

Many hon. Members put questions to the Business Secretary earlier today. I will raise that specific issue with him, and business will be announced in the usual way.

[Danny Kruger (Devizes) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend share my deep concern about the decision of PayPal, the online payments company, to cancel the accounts of certain organisations, including UsForThem, which campaigned against the covid lockdowns and—perhaps most ironically—the Free Speech Union, which appears to have been targeted because of its views on sex and gender? As we move towards a cashless economy, those companies form part of the essential infrastructure of ordinary life. Will the Government take steps to ensure that such companies cannot discriminate against individuals or organisations on the basis of perfectly legal political views?

[Penny Mordaunt]

My hon. Friend may have more information than I do about why PayPal has cancelled those accounts and removed that facility from the organisations he mentioned. From what I understand, the Free Speech Union and other organisations are still in the dark about exactly why they have had those services removed, despite making great efforts to find out. That is a common theme in the casework of many Members of the House, whether that is cancelling contracts or trying to get an error resolved with firms, and it is difficult for people to speak directly to someone to try to get a situation resolved, or to reorganise how they will make those payments. That is a good topic for debate, and I encourage hon. Members who are concerned about customer services in some of these organisations to bring the issue forward and ask for a debate in the usual way.

UK-EU Future Relationship Negotiations and Transition Period

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Danny Kruger

Monday 7th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I would ask the hon. Gentleman to reflect on why he thinks that our nation, collectively and together, voted to leave the EU. I am sure there was a range of issues. Some were economic, because people may not have wanted to be tied to the eurozone, but there were many other reasons. For many, it was about sovereignty, and being able to shape our own future. The policies that we are carrying out and doing our best to secure a deal for, are what we have a mandate to do from the British people. We put the question to them, they gave us their response, and it is incumbent on all of us in this place to act on their wishes.

[Danny Kruger (Devizes) (Con)]

The Government are under huge pressure this week to secure a deal—any deal. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the long-term economic and political consequences of a bad deal that keeps the UK in the regulatory orbit of the EU and not as an independent sovereign state, would be far worse than any temporary short-term consequences that might flow from no deal?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I agree with my hon. Friend. There has to be a point to all the upheaval that we have been through together as a nation over the past few years, and we can look forward to many positives with those new-found freedoms, including being able to make the right choices for this country. I say again: this is not just about the interests of the United Kingdom; I think that the negotiating position of the UK is also of benefit to the remainder of the EU.